Seems like Josh Smith still feels some kind of way about Atlanta despite being two teams removed from the team. Smith didn’t have many nice things to say about the fans of his former team after the Rockets took the loss from the Hawks.
The interplay between Smith and the Philips Arena crowd was lively throughout the night. Smith, an Atlanta native who played his first nine NBA seasons with the Hawks, was booed loudly whenever he touched the ball. The catcalls grew louder in the third quarter, after Smith drained a 3-pointer that rattled around the rim several times before dropping in. Smith then shushed the crowd by placing his finger over his lips as the Hawks called timeout.
“I mean, thoimse fans are fickle, very fickle and bandwagoners,” Smith said. “It really doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Despite qualifying for the playoffs in Smith’s final six seasons in Atlanta, the Hawks never finished in the top half of the NBA in attendance. This season, the Hawks are faring better at the gate and averaging a smidgen more than 17,000 per game, their highest total since Smith came into the league.
While Smith may very well have a point about Atlanta’s fan base, he probably should have just taken the high road on this one. He comes off as sounding a bit bitter about the situation, and he should just focus on making a deep playoff run with his current team who is playing well.